Senior Accountant

Job Introduction

Job Description for Senior Accountant:

There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of the nuclear sector. New opportunities are being created all the time. At UKNNL, you’ll be in the ideal place to capitalise on this momentum, face new challenges and develop a long, successful and meaningful career. 

We’re an organisation that’s here to experiment and push the limits of what’s possible. So, if you’re keen to excel in your chosen field, this is the place to do it. Because at UKNNL, anything is possible.

As a senior functional advisor, the Senior Accountant leads a team of finance professionals to provide a range of financial services to the business or a specific area of the business (the supported area). The Senior Accountant monitors performance against financial targets, promotes understanding of performance drivers and advises on the financial implications of business decisions. The Senior Accountant reports to, and deputises for, the Finance Business Partner.  

Main Responsibilities for Senior Accountant:

• Coordinating the provision of timely, insightful and accurate financial analysis to monitor performance against financial targets through a team of accountants.
• Coordinating the financial planning activity in the supported area across multiple budget holders and multiple planning horizons (in year, rolling annual, 5 years).
• Coordinating the provision of cost centre / management accounting services to the supported area through a team of accountants.
• Partnering with operational management to identify, evaluate and manage risk / opportunities across the supported area.
• Partnering with operational management to identify and implement action plans which deliver target performance.
• Identifying and delivering continuous improvement activities in the function and the supported area.
• Provision of technical accounting guidance across the supported area.
• Ensuring appropriate financial policies are applied to transactions in the supported area.
• Ensuring financial processes are adhered to in the supported area. 
• Management and development of a team of accountants, supporting whilst studying for relevant professional qualifications.

Essential Criteria for Senior Accountant:

• Demonstrable experience of providing financial support to operational managers.
• Strong knowledge of operational and commercial finance.
• Experience of using large ERP systems (Unit 4 Business World would be a bonus).
• Advanced use of Excel.
• Ability to obtain SC level security clearance (this includes but is not limited to identity, employment, financial and criminal record checks plus 5 years’ worth of UK residency).

Desirable Criteria for Senior Accountant:

• Qualified / QBE member of a recognised accountancy body (ACCA, CIMA).

Why join us?

UKNNL isn’t just a place where you can do career-defining work that makes a real-world impact. It’s also a place where you’ll feel appreciated and valued. We’re creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is free to be themselves and feel like they belong. We put your wellbeing first, we push you to reach your potential, and we do everything possible to help you feel safe, supported and inspired.

We also offer a range of employee benefits:

• Sector leading Family-Focused Policies: celebrate life events, including enhanced maternity and paternity leave and a week off for your marriage.
• UKNNL offers attractive pension plans. If you contribute 5%, UKNNL contributes 15%. Alternatively, if you choose not to contribute (0%), UKNNL will still contribute 10%.
• Annual Leave: Benefit from 25.5 days of leave, plus 4 extra days to be taken during Christmas shutdown, plus Bank Holidays.
• Reduced gym membership with discounts of up to 25% from 3,700 gym and leisure providers across the UK
• Company Bonus: Be rewarded for your contributions.
• Learning Opportunities: Enhance your skills through excellent development programmes.
• Employee Assistance: Access support for personal and professional challenges.
• Cycle to Work: Stay active and eco-friendly.
• Life Assurance: Ensure peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
• Enhanced Sick Pay Benefits: Receive support during illness or injury.
• Access to ‘Mydiscounts’ which has a range of special offers and discounts from more than 200 suppliers, including medical insurance and dental insurance. 
• Health Care: Health savings plan which allows you to claim money back on visits to the dentist, optician and/or physiotherapist (limits apply).

About The Company

UKNNL is an incredible place to work. A place where people do things that have never been done before. A place where people push boundaries to further themselves, the business and society as a whole.

This is a place where personal and professional opportunities are limitless. If you want to change the world, if you want to tackle climate change, if you want to help advance medical science, if you want to help put things in space, if you want to answer the big questions, if you want to work with extraordinary materials, if you want to meet great people, learn new skills, challenge yourself, work flexibly, and build a long successful career with the power to make a real impact… you can do it all here.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

UKNNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (ED&I) where UKNNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures, providing reasonable adjustments as appropriate. We want you and the diverse mix of people that we employ, customers that we service and stakeholders that we influence to feel valued. We encourage a workplace culture where everyone can thrive with a sense of belonging and the ability to access to workplace in a way which works for you.

Recruitment Agency Notice

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of recruitment services. Only agencies on our PSL may provide CVs and only when the role is released to them by our recruitment team. We will not accept unsolicited CVs from suppliers not currently on our PSL. We explicitly reserve the right to add candidate details from unsolicited CVs from non-PSL agencies into our own candidate database and to pursue/hire such candidate(s) without any obligation, financial or otherwise, to the agency concerned.

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory